a head shrinker will do you good,” Father Simon said. “Maybe the doctor can shrink your ego too. I’m going to go back and see if Father Santos can use my help.”

Kiki followed the priest out. Alan waited a beat and said, “For what it’s worth, I thought you were heroic.”

“Thanks. Tell the guys, I appreciate them saving my butt.”

“I will,” Alan said and walked out the door.

Jesse found himself alone in the room. He didn’t like to be managed by Kiki, but he knew he wasn’t 100%. He’d just be a liability. Cid needed clear heads and healthy bodies.

His door opened, and a stunning brunette holding a clipboard walked in.

Jesse thought, please be Dr. Crisper, please be Dr. Crisper.

“I’m looking for a Jesse Holden?”

“I’m he.”

“I’m Dr. Crisper. I see your roommate is absent. Would you mind us chatting in here?”

“No. I’m not suicidal,” Jesse insisted, “just a little crazy.”

The doctor smiled an indulgent smile. “We’ll see.”

~

Cid stared down at the broken glass and pondered whether he should just leave it? Gary cleared his voice, “Come on, Cid, Kiki is going to be here any minute.”

“But…”

“We need to get out of this contract clean. Then we can come back and clear the house. Hell, maybe the owner will want us to deal with it now.”

“Where’s Father Santos?”

“Still outside with Carl,” Gary answered.

Cid pulled out his phone and looked at it. The temptation of calling Mia was too much. This was his investigation, and he had the right people in play. He normally didn’t have any problem leading but, then again, his good friend didn’t almost die either. Plus, there was Sally to consider. He took a step back and said, “Gary, I’ll clean this up, but first I want to call Sally, just to get her perspective on the situation.”

“Fine with me. I’m going to start to gather my tools, just in case we have to beat feet out of Dodge.”

Sally looked at her phone and answered. “A bit early for your call,” Sally teased.

“I need your military perspective.”

“I can only give you a grunts-eye-view, but have at it.”

Cid told her everything that had happened since the last time they spoke. He didn’t leave out one detail. His pedantic self not only gave her what he saw but what he felt. To give her credit, she didn’t interrupt him once. When he had finished, he said, “My instincts are to stay and finish this, but it’s not my call.”

“Morally it is, but Kiki is your general,” Sally reminded him. “You said that Father Santos and Carl were on the grounds with Stephen…”

“Yes.”

“The contract I signed didn’t say anything about the walnut grove. Sweep up the glass and take it with you to the grove. Hide the evidence of Wayne’s attack there. Also, they may want the keys back. Tell them they are at the bottom of the lake.”

“But everyone knows that they were recovered.”

“Have Faye tell them to lie.”

“Have Faye tell two priests to lie?” Cid clarified.

“Yes. In Europe, priests lied all the time in order to protect the people they were hiding. These men, from what Stephen tells me, are used to having to bend the truth a bit in their line of work.”

“You’re right, they are. I feel so paralyzed, afraid of making the wrong decision.”

“You’ve been investigating for years. What’s different?”

“Burt, Mia or someone else was calling the shots.”

“But not always.”

“Jesse died. I almost died saving him. I’m no longer a man without a care in the world. I have…”

“You have me,” Sally said tenderly. “I can’t express the wonderous tingle that just went through my body. Cid, I will never ask you to change. Don’t use me as an excuse. Trust me to understand the perils of your profession. Now go out and see what can be done out of the house while Kiki handles things from within.”

“You’re right.”

“Wrap this up and come home. Or send Stephen.”

“Hold on now…”

Sally giggled. “I knew it! There is nothing to worry about. Stephen has been a gentleman, and I have enjoyed hearing about your and his adventures. I’m just a placeholder for you or the Martins. He’s a placeholder for you. Together, we enjoy conversation and a few laughs. I think maybe he even thinks of me as a friend. I certainly see him that way.”

“I’m glad. Now I better be a good friend and liaise between him and Father Santos.”

“If he gets sent to Heaven in error, there will be hell to pay.”

“Clever,” Cid said.

“I’m quite proud of that,” Sally said. “Goodbye and good luck. Bring me back a walnut.”

Chapter Twenty-six

Cid heard them before Murphy sensed him. They met halfway.

“Lower your axe,” Cid said. “Sally wouldn’t want two ghosts playing suitor.”

Murphy dropped his axe and pushed his hat back. “That’s not…”

“I’m teasing you,” Cid said. “Come on, show me what you found.”

Father Santos was flipping through a book and holding pages up next to some of the symbols carved on one of the stones. Carl was clearing the drifts away from the standing stones with his foot. He had Sariel’s dagger stuck through his belt.

“Sanskrit,” Cid said, recognizing the symbols. “You’d think they would be Enochian, or maybe Spanish.”

“Yes,” Father Santos said closing his book. “How did you know?”

“Altair mentioned that demons found Sanskrit easy to pronounce with their elongated palates. Seems to me, they would use the language to mark their stones too.”

“Can you read Sanskrit?”

“I recently read a book on it, but I do have a working iPhone and Google all cued up.” Cid looked at each stone. He smiled and walked and patted the top of one. “North.”

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